Baby Proofing

12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children

About 2.5 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety precautions like childproofing with devices available on the market today. You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it with easy to find and purchase safety devices. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen stores, and through mail order catalogues.

A good safety device should prevent injury to your child but also be easy-to-use. It's important to follow installation instructions carefully to ensure proper operation. In addition, if you have older children in the house, be sure they re-secure safety devices. Remember that no device is completely childproof; determined youngsters have been known to disable them.

Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent injury to young children.

1) Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Safety latches and cabinet/drawer locks can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.

Look for safety latches and locks that are easy-to-use and assemble but that are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging should be locked away, out of reach; this packaging is not childproof.

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2) Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down the stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a child's head and neck to fit into. Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.

3) Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms that are potentially dangerous. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from hazardous places, including swimming pools.

Be sure that the door knob cover lets you open the door quickly in case of emergency, but is also sturdy enough to withstand a child’s force. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms, door knob covers help prevent many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should be placed high and out of reach. Locks should be used in addition to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be re-secured after each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools. Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4) Use Anti-Scalding Devices for Faucets and Shower Heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent hot water burns.
You might have to hire a plumber to install these anti-scalding devices, but they are worth it. If you have access to your own hot water heater, set the temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a safe temperature for a child’s sensitive skin. Typical cost of an anti-scalding device: $6 to $30.

5) Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you in case of fire. Smoke detectors protect against fire-related deaths and injuries and are a safety device that you can’t afford to overlook.

Check smoke detectors at least once a month to make sure that they're working. If detectors are battery-operated, change the batteries at least once a year or consider using 10-year batteries. Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.

6) Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious injury.

Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure, properly installed, and maintained. There should be no more than four inches between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at least one window in each room can be easily used for escape in the case of a fire. Window screens alone are not an effective tool to prevent children from falling out the window. Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7) Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from the sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used on furniture and fireplace hearths to soften sharp or rough edges and help prevent injuries from falls. Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges. Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8) Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution. Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them. Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9) Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages. Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10) Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent strangulation from blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on blinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds.

For older blinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new blinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.

11) Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.

Be sure that safety devices for doors are easy-to-use and unlikely to break into small parts, which can be a choking hazard for young children.
Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12) Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.

Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.

For more information on products that specifically target your baby’s safety needs, please visit: http://www.brickhouse-childsafety.com/baby-monitor.html